Maize Yellow
by Icicle04
Summary: "Go. Go beat the shit out of that Haizaki." Suzume's lips curved up into the biggest smile he's ever seen, half encouraging and half menacing. "Or I'll be beating the shit out of you later." Kise was motivated by her, and he wanted to return the favour by being there for her. But she has had her heart broken too often by so-called 'friends'. Will she ever trust someone again?
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER ONE**

"Excuse me, ah... Kikuchi-san!"

"What?" Suzume turned towards the voice. The bell had just rung and she had hastily dashed out of class, not wanting to stay a second longer than she has to. Besides, she had a drawing to finish.

She saw a guy, - specifically, the guy who sat next to her in class - the one with the banana-coloured hair. "Kikuchi-san, you left your book behind." He handed her her precious sketchbook, the one with all her good drawings in it.

"Oh. Thanks." Suzume was glad this guy noticed, or else she wouldn't be able to finish her sketch today. "You can call me Suzume, you know."

"Suzu-chan, do you recognise me?" What sort of question is that? She was getting impatient - after all, this is wasting her time.

"Hah? No. Why?"

"I'll give you a hint. I'm Kise."

"Look, dude. I have no idea who you are. Wait, are you famous or something? Either way I'm no good with celebrities so don't bother." Suzume sighed exasperatedly.

"Whaaaat? You don't know me? I am Kise Ryota, and I do modelling for magazines." His jaw dropped open, extremely shocked that a _girl _didn't know him.

"Oh, well that explains it - I don't read fashion magazines. Anyway, I'm grateful that you gave me my book, but I'm leaving now." And then she just hurried away. Kise stared after her with a mystified expression, which didn't last for long, since his horde of fangirls had caught up and were screaming at him. God, sometimes he just wished for a peaceful life...

"KISE-KUN WE LOVE YOU!"

"OMG MY RYO-CHAN!"

"HE'S _MY _RYOTA-KUN!"

He heaved a small sigh but turned back towards them, a winning smile on his face. "Girls I'd really love to talk but I have basketball practice, and girls aren't supposed to watch, sorry."

The fangirls swooned and Kise took the chance to dash off towards the second gym.

* * *

Suzume managed to finish the drawing of the sunflowers and now started on something new. She didn't really know what she was doing, just drawing whatever while her mind wandered.

She thought about her parents who lived in Kyoto and her good friend Shinju, who goes to Yosen High in Akita. Shinju is probably the only friend she has right now, despite having started her first year in Kaijo for quite a few weeks already. Yes, people call her antisocial, but she doesn't trust people easily. Not when so-called 'friends' had betrayed her so easily before...

Suzu's attention snapped back to her sketch, and realised that she had drawn a pair of eyes. Eyes that belonged to Shinju. A small smile made its way onto her face and she stared at the eyes for a few minutes. Shinju had mesmerising amber eyes with gold flecks and her teasing grin always made everyone happy. She might not admit it, but having a real friend was good. In fact, it was awesome.

"I'm back!" An excited voice announced, interrupting her train of thought. "Onee-chan, where are you?"

"Here." Suzu replied without much enthusiasm.

"Suzu-nee-chan, is there anything to eat? I'm huuuunnnngry." Her little sister bounded into her room.

"Sora, you go do your homework, and I'll make dinner, okay?" Suzu ruffled Sora's hair and stood up, yawning.

"Haaaahhh? Homework is booorrring." She pouted, stretching the syllables where possible.

Suzu gave her 'the look' and Sora sighed but obeyed, muttering a quick "Meanie." under her breath. She always acted so babyish even though she's in her last year of elementary school already.

A sigh escaped out of Suzume's mouth as she rolled up her sleeves and headed downstairs towards the kitchen. It's not that she didn't enjoy cooking - she did (well most times anyway) - but she was tired and lazy and on the menu today was a very complicated dish...

* * *

"Sora..." Suzume tiredly made her way into her little sister's room. "Sora, wake up. It's time for breakfast."

Then watching as Sora stumbled out of bed to brush her teeth, Suzu went back down to the dining room, gulping down the mini-sandwiches - even though they were born in Japan they often visited western countries when they were small and got used to the food there - and orange juice. Sora soon appeared and did the same.

They both went their separate ways after breakfast.

Suzume broke into a run. It was 7:54am already! She was going to be late.

* * *

"Suzu-chan!" A familiar voice called to her as she dashed into the classroom and quickly sat down.

"What?"

"Suzu-chan!" Now she ignored the weirdo and turned her attention to the whiteboard. There was nothing on there, since - luckily - the teacher wasn't here yet. "Suzu-chan, do you want to eat lunch together?"

"No." A quick and straightforward answer.

Kise was left speechless. _No _girl had ever refused him before. Ever. Was he losing his charm?! Kise quickly turned to the other girl next to him and grinned at her.

She fainted.

Okay, so he wasn't losing his charm. Then what? This girl didn't seem to care about him at all, and that was unheard of. A girl who didn't like the great Kise Ryota?

"Hey Suzu-chan..." He nudged her. "Can I be your friend?"

"No. Why?"

Kise pouted. "Because I want to be. Pleeeeeaaaaase..."

"No." She looked at his wide eyes. "I don't need friends."

He blinked and stopped trying to talk to her. Thoughts flew around in his head, more than ever before, and he decided to try again at lunch.

Which was precisely now.

Kise just realised that Suzume had stalked away as soon as the teacher had dismissed them. Ah, damn, now he'll have to look for her as well as try to avoid his - rather annoying - fangirls. The blondie rushed to pack up his stuff and set off in pursuit of this weird girl.

"Suzu-chan, where are you?" Kise yelled. Unfortunately, his dumbness made all the girls in the area running towards his voice.

"HERE YOU ARE!"

"KISE-SAN!"

"I FOUND YOU!"

"Why are you looking for Suzume? Come with us!" The girl who seemed like the leader of the pack offered, flicking her hair and giving a sly grin at him. He bit his lip but didn't say anything, and she took that as fresh encouragement, slithering forward and putting her hand on his chest.

Kise stepped back. "Uh, I think I'm going to go practice basketball for a while. See you, girls!" He didn't really want to play basketball, but he knew that girls who have no business with the basketball club are banned from that place.

Once out of their line of vision, he started searching for Suzume again. He went through the club rooms and gyms, and all the classrooms he knew.

Yet he still couldn't find her.

Now there was only one place left to go. Kise ran across the oval and towards the weeping willow there, and soon Suzume was in sight. She was sitting with her back to him at the base of the small hill, her light amber-brown hair resting messily beneath her shoulders.

"SUZU-CHAN I'VE FINALLY FOUND YOU!" He hollered, although she didn't seem to have heard. Kise stopped right next to her, panting. "Suzu-chan?"

"Woah, shoot!" Suzume cursed. "You scared me to _death_!"

Kise peered over her shoulders at a watercolour painting of the weeping willow on top of that hill. "Suzu-chan...You are _so _good at drawing." Then he thought for a while. "Suzu-cchi!"

"Hah?!" She frowned, still not over the fact that he managed to find her and interrupt her precious painting time.

"Suzu-cchi... Don't you have any friends? What you said in class...I'm sure it isn't true."

Suzume blinked. "It is. I don't need friends. All 'friends' do is pretend to be nice to you, then they all betray you in the end." Her voice was bitter, and she lowered her eyes back down to her painting.

That was the precise moment that Kise decided to befriend this girl and prove to her that not everyone is bad. She may seem antisocial and bitter, but he knew that maybe she wanted a real friend too. He just has to prove that he won't betray her and is a _true _friend.

"Well Suzume-cchi, I'll be your friend."

Suzu, without a thought, declined. To her, it was just like before, those people who pretended to be your friend. What she didn't know was that this insignificant little sentence was the start of something unexpected. She didn't know that, to Kise...

_**The game has started.**_

* * *

**Hello readers, this is going to be a series, so watch out for the other stories too.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything 'cept for my characters or the plot - applies for all chapters**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

"Ne, ne, Suzu-cchi!" Kise bounded over to her as soon as he saw her come in the classroom door. Suzume ignored him and walked over to her seat, plopping down with a sigh. "Have you done any more drawings? I wanna seeeeee!"

"Go away." She said in a flat voice, completely poker-faced as she took her books out and placed them neatly on the table.

Kise pouted. "But I _sit _here, Suzu-cchi~" Then, as quick as lightning, he grabbed Suzume's sketch book - which was also on her table along with the other stuff - and shot out of reach. She gave a low growl and stood up, her face a mixture of worry and anger.

"Give that back, dumbass."

"No~" The blonde happily flicked through her best and most secret drawings ever (not even her parents or her sister has seen them) and came to a stop when he saw the eyes. "W-who is that?"

Suzume took the chance to snatch her precious sketchpad out of Kise's hands. "No one you know." But he could see her hands shaking a little as she quickly slid the book of drawings back into her bag.

"S-Suzu-cchi?"

She was saved by the teacher coming in through the door. Suzume really didn't want to talk about Shinju with him - after what he said last week, she didn't want him to know any of her weaknesses. And Shinju was definitely a weakness. She wasn't sure if it was because she didn't have any other friends, but she really cared for Shinju.

"Miss Kikuchi? If you would care to solve the equation?" Suzume snapped back to attention, looking at the question on the board, and after a while of thinking, replied,

"Q equals ten and P equals eight."

He glared at her and turned away. This has happened many times, especially with this particular teacher. Whenever she zones out they always pick on her, but gets nothing but a correct answer back every time. They obviously didn't know that she actually studies _very _hard at home.

* * *

Suzume drew peacefully on the rooftop of the 1st year building. She thought that Kise wouldn't be able to interrupt her here. Boy, was she wrong...

"Suzu-cchi! I searched a _long _time for you, you know!"

She gritted her teeth and kept her head down, ignoring the blonde model. He peered at her newest picture, a simple sketch of the view from where she was sitting.

"Woah, _so _awesome..." The finishing touches were done and Kise grinned happily. "Draw me?"

Suzume grumbled something inaudible but then glared up at him when he didn't move. He brightened. "Yay~" And then he sat down, leaning on the railings in a casual 'model pose'. He watched as her hands moved rapidly, perfectly capturing the moment.

After only mere minutes, she stopped. "Done." Kise scrambled over to have a look.

"Suzu-cchi! Even the look in my eyes is like, real! It looks like a...a _photo _of me!"

"Yeah, well, it's supposed to, Banana-Head."

"If you sold it to my fangirls the would pay hundreds for it!"

"No way do I ever sell or give away my drawings... Except for my friends." The last part was so soft he barely heard it.

Kise's eyes widened. "Y-your friends?"

Suzume turned away. "Let's go back to the classroom now." He watched, mystified, as she grabbed her book and pencils and left without another word.

So she_ does _have friends... But why wouldn't she talk about them? He sighed and hurried after her. _Too confusing, _he thought. He'll have to figure it all out later.

* * *

**~Suzume's Point Of View~First Person~**

Whenever I walked around the school I would receive glares and pointed looks from the girls. I never really knew why and didn't care either. If they all wanted to hate me for no specific reason, then I'll let it be. It would even help with me with my do-not-make-any-friends plan.

"Kikuchi, is it?" One of the bolder girls came forward. Some of her shirt buttons were unbuttoned so that way too much was showing and her makeup made her look like a clown.

"Yeah. What do you want?" I was too tired for this business.

She sneered. "Don't think you can say what you want just because my dear Ryo-kun has taken an interest in you. He'll dump you before long, you'll see."

"..." Who the hell is Ry- oh she means that Banana-Head... She's got it all wrong... "Ok."

She seemed surprised. "So stay away from my Ryo-kun, or else there'll be consequences, okay?"

"I would appreciate it if you tell _him_ to stay away from _me_." And with that, I left the annoying fangirl staring after me and started walking home.

"Jesus." I mumbled to myself. "That girl was so...pushy. If she told me to stay away from...anyone that wasn't that Banana-Head, I wouldn't have listened."

I pushed open the door of my house, dumping my bag by the door. Today I stayed at school slightly later than I normally do because I got caught up in the school's art gallery. There was some really cool work that I felt inspired by so I wanted to start working on something right now.

"I'm home, Sora."

"Suzu-nee-chan! I've finished my homework!"

"That's great. I'll go make something for dinner and you...can go do whatever." I ruffled her hair lovingly. My sister was the one person I can really be myself around.

"Yup!" She gave me a salute and went to open the TV. Just when I finished dinner, she called to me again. "Suzu-nee-chan, your phone's ringing!"

I went over and picked the vibrating device up. "Hello?"

"Suzume." A familiar voice said on the other side of the line.

"F-Father?"

"Yes. I have called you today to tell you about a job I have decided for you."

"Yes?" My dad was always so distant, so stern.

"Well, I don't want you to laze around doing nothing all day, so I called a few acquaintances. A fashion magazine company would like to have you as a model."

"W-what?"

"Yes, a model. Now I'm sure it'll provide plenty of money, and I heard a famous model works there. Kise Ryota, was it? Anyway, work starts in two weeks' time, and I expect you to be there. Now I have a meeting, but I'll send the photo studio's address to you."

"Wait, I d-" And then he hung up on me. "Argh, I don't want to be a _model." _I growled, slamming my phone down onto the table angrily. "It's always 'oh I'm sure you'll get heaps of money from it' and never 'oh I'm sure it'll be fun'. It's always for the good of you, but you never care about what I think."

"Suzu-nee-chan, dad's forcing you to be a model...?" Sora looked up.

"Mm-hm."

"B-but...but that's awesome!" She squealed, eyes shining as she jumped up and down.

"No it's not. Go eat dinner now_."_ My voice trembled slightly. I have to work at the same place as _Kise Ryota? _And as a _model? _

"O-_kay, _Suzu-nee-chan." Sora did her famous pout again. "But it'll really be cool if you were a model."

And then my phone rang again.

"Hello?"

"Suuuuuuzzuuuuuuummeeeeee!" My jaw dropped open as I heard yet another familiar voice that I hadn't heard in ages.

"Shinju..."

"Hah? Don't tell me you've forgotten about me, I mean like we've only separated for a few weeks!"

Hearing her voice brought so many memories flooding back, the good ones and the bad ones together.

**~Flashback~**

_Suzume grinned at her middle school friends, Sayuri and Amaya. _

_"Hey Suzu-chan, we have to go to ballet now, see you tomorrow!" Sayuri got up, stretching._

_"Sure! See ya!" She suddenly decided to play a prank on her friends. After they disappeared, she got up and followed them, close enough to hear but not close enough to be spotted._

_"Jeez, that Suzume is really a bother." She felt her eyes widen._

_"Yeah, I mean I'm only hanging out with her cos mum said that her dad is important for business."_

_"She is soooo annoying, she thinks she's our FRIEND, huh?" Suzume sat down hard on a bench nearby._

_"Sayu, Ama-chan?" She called loudly, breathing in._

_"Suzume?" Amaya turned around._

_"I-I heard what you said before. Is it...true?" Something like this has happened before in elementary school, and she'd felt so sad that she had cried for a week and not made any friends since. Finally, in middle school, she had gotten over it and made some friends, but...this is what she gets?_

_Sayuri sighed. "Eavesdropper." She made a disgusted face. "I've been standing you for so long."_

_"I know right, I can't pretend to be your friend anymore. Mum can't expect any more out of me." Amaya examined her nails._

_"But...but I'm your friend, right?" Suzume said softly._

_"No way. You were just a useful acquaintance. Let's go, Sayu." And then they snickered and turned away, leaving her on the verge of tears._

**~Flashback End~**

"No... I haven't forgotten you, Shinju. I remember when Sayuri and Amaya just left but you were there to comfort me..."

"Aw, how sweet. It sounds like you missed me a lot!"

"No way." But Suzume was grinning.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

As Suzume filled in the worksheet quickly, she saw Kise struggling with his own out of the corner of her eye. She had stayed up late last night reviewing this Chemistry stuff, so this was no problem.

The blonde nudged her. "Suzu-cchi, help me?" He whispered urgently.

She let out a huff of annoyance. "Go ask your fangirls or something."

"B-but..." Kise whimpered. "They are all really dumb..."

She snorted. "_Now _you're being mean to them? Pfft."

"Suzu-cchi..."

A sigh escaped out of her mouth. "Jeez... You have to fill in these - a metal mixed with a acid equals a salt and hydrogen..."

* * *

"Hey! Come watch my basketball training in the third gym!" Kise said excitedly.

"No." Suzume said plainly. She had known that he played basketball from the screams of the fangirls (and there were a _lot_).

"Haaaah?" He grabbed her arm and swung it back and forth. "Pleeeeeaaasse?"

"No."

He pouted and thought for a while. Then he grinned and started making his way towards the gym, dragging her by the arm.

"Oi! Let go of me, Banana-Head! Hey, I've got stuff to do!" She struggled, but he was a very strong guy, so it was useless.

Kise stopped for a second, never loosening his grip on her. "What stuff?"

"Homework!"

"Oh." He kept walking. "That doesn't matter."

"Argh..."

**~A While Later~**

"Kasamatsu-senpai! Can Suzu-cchi watch our practice today?" All Kasamatsu saw was Kise dragging in a poor girl by her arm, and he immediately ducked his head and turned away.

Moriyama had hearts in his eyes.

Hayakawa was randomly screaming, "I (will) ge(t) all (re)bounds!"

And the others stopped what they were doing and stared at the pair at the door.

"Can she?" He repeated excitedly. Said girl turned to look at Kasamatsu, scowling slightly.

He went red and stuttered, "W-well, girls aren't r-really sup-pposed to unless th-they have business with the club..."

"But I invited her!"

"Th-then I guess it's okay..."

"Yay!"

Suzume groaned. She never wanted to watch their practice in the first place; what's so exciting about watching a bunch of annoying, sweaty guys running around chasing a stupid ball? Plus, what's with their weird and super-shy captain?

As if reading her mind, Kise bent down to her and whispered, "Don't mind him, he's just scared of girls." She leaned away from him.

"I'M NOT SCARED OF GIRLS! SENPAIS ARE TO BE RESPECTED!" The captain yelled, sideways kicking him in the head.

"Nice kick." She commented.

"E-er..." He went into tomato mode again.

_Jesus, _Suzume thought, _is this going to happen every time I talk to him? What a cowardly guy._

"Suzu-cchi! This is Kasamatsu Yukio, our captain, Moriyama Yoshitaka, Hayakawa Mitsuhiro, Kobori Kouji, and Nakamura Shinya. We're the First String Boys' Basketball Team of Kaijo!"

"Okay." She said boredly and tried to edge her way to the exit of the gym.

Kise immediately came and blocked her way when he noticed what she was trying to do. "Nuh-uh, you stay right here and watch us practice."

She sighed and silently got out her phone, sending Sora a text to tell her she'll be late home today.

* * *

There were books scattered messily on the benches and pens everywhere as Suzume finished her English homework and is working on the next chapter in the book, trying to get ahead again so she can keep up.

"Crap...What does documentary mean again?" She absentmindedly ruffled her hair as she flicked through the English-Japanese dictionary. "Oh right..."

"Why aren't you watching us practice?" A sudden voice next to her ear made her jump.

"OI! Did you want to scare me to death?!" Suzume almost shouted, gaining the attention of the other basketball players who were also taking a rest.

"Noooooo, don't die, Suzu-cchi!"

"First you try to kill me, then you tell me not to die? What?" This guy was so confusing, she didn't understand what was going on in his head. But then again she wasn't exactly what you would call social, and didn't really know what goes on in anyone's her except for her own.

The girl lowered her head and started reading the English essay in the textbook again and Kise got back to practise.

After about 40 minutes she had managed to read through the whole three pages and understand most of it. Note: _most. _There were still some things that she didn't understand but she was way too tired. English was so hard to learn; the grammar was different, the spelling was hard, and there was way too many words.

Suzume stretched and looked up towards the basketball players, not having anything else to do. She saw Kasamatsu jumping up to shoot and Moriyama blocking, then he unexpectedly passed the ball back towards Kise, who dribbled up to the net and dunked forcefully, hanging onto the hoop for a little longer.

"..." The light hazel haired girl had to admit that they were good. Not that she knew anything about basketball, heck, she barely knew the rules.

"Eh?" Kise realised that she was finally watching them. "SUZU-CCHI!"

That earned him another kick to the head. "GET BACK TO PRACTISE YOU IDIOT!"

* * *

It was a few days later (where Kise would continuously follow the girl around )in PE that the first 'accident' happened...

**~Suzume's Point Of View~First Person~**

I was tired after doing so much running - what even was the point in it? I mean, yes I could run fast if there was a purpose for it, but when there was no reason to run I hate it.

The girls now had to run up and down the stairs twice more, and I was just relaxing at the top when I felt a hand on my small back and suddenly I was tumbling into open air. I skidded on the steps before finally landing on the second ledge.

"Ooowwww..." I muttered under my breath, sitting up to examine my arms and legs. There was just a few small scratches on my arms and legs, but the scrape on my right knee was really bad. Blood was oozing out fast and there was some dirt in the wound.

And the blonde model just happened to come by at that time.

"Suzu-cchi! What happened?!" He exclaimed, rushing down and taking a look at her knee. "Ouchie..."

"Well," said a voice which belonged to a girl at the top of the steps, "She wasn't watching and fell, bumping into me in the process."

I was pretty sure someone pushed me though, because I was just standing there taking a breath... It must've been her.

"You should say sorry, you know." She smirked. Said girl had cropped ash-blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes. "By the way, my name's Hitomi." She aimed her last sentence at Kise, flipping her hair and smiling disgustingly.

He just stood there looking confused. Then he finally spoke again. "Let's go to the infirmary to get your knee bandaged, Suzu-cchi."

I wordlessly held up my hand and he pulled me up.

On the way to the health centre it was silent and I didn't bother saying anything, just watching the blood trickling down my leg. When we got there the nurse had to scrub the wound to clean it (that hurt a lot and I was internally screaming my head off), but otherwise it didn't really hurt. I didn't cry, unlike some other girls might, and it was all good except that I didn't know what I did to make that Hitomi girl so mad that she decided to push me down the stairs.

* * *

**~A Day Later~In Chemistry~**

**~Normal Point Of View~Third Person~**

Suzume striked a match, holding it above the Bunsen burner, while with the other hand turning on the gas tap. Her partner, Akira, just stood and watched. She turned away to grab something, unaware that Hitomi was making frantic gestures at Akira, and she slowly moved the blue flamed-equipment just next to Suzume.

When she turned back, the fire, a few hundred degrees Celsius hot, burnt a little bit of her left hand. There was a sharp intake of breath and the girl ran to the tap, running her hand under the cold water. Then she just sat down on the ground hard, biting her lip and trying hard not to cry.

Kise saw her and immediately rushed over. By now, tears were spilling out of her pretty aquamarine eyes and pouring down her cheeks.

"Suzu-cchi...your hand...are you okay...? No, dumb question..." His voice was gentler than usual.

"I'm fine." Suzume mumbled, the words a contrast to her expression. "I'm...fine."

Then she was sent to the nurse's office for the second time that week. Why does bad things keep happening? First she acquired a blonde stalker who doesn't seem to be able to leave her alone, then her dad told her that she would be working with that stalker, then she 'fell' down the stairs and now her hand is burnt and hurts like hell.

What is _wrong _with her life?

* * *

**Please review for more updates! I don't mind some constructive criticism too. Btw underlined is English.**

**The incident of the knee was very loosely based on a true thing that happened to me. Except of course no one pushed me, and I wasn't on the stairs.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, please go read my other KnB fanfics!**

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Kise plopped onto the photoshoot studio's comfy sofa, grabbing his bottle and gulping some water down. Modelling was kinda fun but also very tiring - especially when his fangirls decide to storm the studio and make a huge fuss out of who's going to be the side role... Thinking of that, he remembered that there will be a new model today who he was going to watch and decide if he wanted to work together.

"Hey, what's the name of the new model I'll be watching today?" Kise asked to nobody in particular.

"Ah, I don't know... Was it Shizuka or something?" His manager scratched his head. "Oh, here she comes."

He tilted his head to look at this new girl, but he only got a glimpse of her back. She had nicely curled hair- the same colour as Suzu-cchi's - and was wearing a purple dress with a puffy skirt. There was a large straw hat on her head too, and black, fingerless gloves made of leather. Kise immediately approved of her outfit - it was very professional (but then again the wardrobe people probably chose it for her). Now, he just needs to see if her face is right for the job...

A loud, wheezy gasp came out of his mouth as soon as the girl turned around. It was... SUZU-CCHI'S TWIN! She had aquamarine blue eyes just like Suzume (but no black glasses), and light makeup on her flawless face. What ruined the whole effect was the grimace and the narrowed eyes.

Kise opened and closed his mouth like a fish and then bounded excitedly towards the new girl.

"HI I'M KISE RYOTA DO YOU KNOW SUZUME-CCHI?" He shouted.

She sighed. "I _am _Suzume."

In that moment of shock, time stood still as he just gaped at her. This wasn't happening. No, Suzu-cchi would never want to be a model... But, this girl _did _look exactly like her... She never told him... That's so mean...

"Look." She said, "I can prove it." The girl peeled back the left leather glove, and on the side of her, near the bone that sticks out, was a burn scar, still red and angry.

"S-Suzu..me-cchi..." Kise stuttered.

The blonde watched as his classmate that he'd been bugging for the last weeks posed again for the camera. This time his manager told her to have one hand behind her back and one holding the rim of the black straw hat.

Suzume looked amazing.

He didn't even know she could look like that... The way her hair was curled perfectly showed off her face and her eyes stood out without the thick black frames hiding them.

* * *

**~Time Skip~A Week Later~**

"Hey, don't you think this girl from 'Modelling Weekly' looks familiar...?" A boy in his second year exclaimed.

His friend nodded vigorously. "Yeah, wasn't it that girl who the Kise guy hangs around all the time? Year 1B, I think."

Coincidentally, said girl walked by, with Kise whining (again) about something or another.

The group of upperclassmen rushed over.

"Hey! Aren't you from this magazine?"

"Can I take a photo with you?

"You are actually very pretty!"

Suzume decided that these weird people weren't talking to her and kept on walking to her Home Economics class, still trying shake off the blonde (which that proved to be very difficult indeed). He shot a glare at her admirers and they were immediately subdued by the rare serious expression that was on his face.

"I hate those fanboys who just think you're pretty and popular." Kise grumbled, jogging to keep up with the hazel-haired girl.

She muttered a "Mmm." before saying, "But isn't it the same with your fangirls?"

He pondered this for quite a while, seeming to have never thought of this before, then nodded slowly. "That's right... Bu-but..." And he tried to change the subject, apparently uncomfortable with talking about this. "And also, Suzu-cchi, I just thought, I've never properly introduced myself to you before!"

"Er, what?"

"I'm Kise Ryota, and I do karaoke and my hobby is basketball, wait no it's the other way around! I come from Teiko Middle School, being part of the Generation of Miracles. I also do modelling, so I'm very busy most of the time! Nice to meet you!" He randomly bounced on his toes, making weird gestures and trying to walk alongside me at the same time.

"I must say, I'm weirded out by your tackiness."

He made the usual puppy-dog eyes, going, "Whaaaaaa?" and attracting heaps of attention from the girls (as usual). But it was weird this morning, because everyone seemed to be staring at her too... Meh, it's nothing.

Suzume looked at him blankly as she got to her class. He looked back too, and then finally realised that it wasn't his class.

"You can go away now." She said flatly.

Kise whimpered, then scrambled away, or else he'd be late.

* * *

She stirred the mixing bowl thoroughly, (densely) not noticing her male partner trying too hard to help her and generally looking over-excited.

"E-erm, Suzume-san?"

She kept stirring. "What?"

He fidgeted nervously. "Well, w-were you on Modelling Weekly this month?"

"What's that?"

"So it wasn't y-you?"

"Huh?"

The conversation kept going, Suzume having no idea what-so-ever about what he was talking about.

In the end the cupcakes were baked nicely, and the icing was put on very artistically, but the guy was absolutely depressed, not able to get a confirmed answer out of her.

After Home Economics, she left the room only to find Kise waiting for her like an over-excited dog.

"Stalker."

"NO-SSU!" He protested vigorously. "I-I'm just... being a good fr- classmate!"

She nodded. "Okay, but I don't really need a... 'good classmate' or whatever."

He looked like he just got slapped in the face. "O-oh, r-really...?" Kise kept silent for the rest of the way to he-didn't-know-where, shuffling his feet and occasionally glancing at Suzume with a pitiful expression on his face.

* * *

Suzume arrived at school the next morning to loud choruses of wolf whistles and yells of, "It's her!"

As soon as she stepped into the school gates, fanboys crowded her, shoving bits of paper, arms, and permanent markers at her for her to sign. The poor girl was overwhelmed, not even knowing what this was all about.

"Sign my arm please!"

"Can you do my back?"

"H-huh...? W-what?" Suzume stood there, very confused, until a very angry blonde model came and ushered her away...

On their way to Roll Call, he was still muttering under his breath. "Outrageous, those filthy boys all crowding around Suzu-cchi... How dare they..."

All through the subjects, still he muttered, and she remembered dimly wondering whether he had that much breath to mutter through like five million classes. Finally it was lunch, and he stopped muttering for once.

But Suzume seemed to have got her lunch all planned out by someone else.

"Hey Ryo-kun!" Hitomi giggled, making her way to where Kise was waiting for the hazel-haired girl. "Could I just borrow Suzu-chan this lunch?"

His eyes lit up at the thought of Suzume having actual friends. "Sure, sure! Go ahead!"

"I don't wa-" She protested, but was dragged away by the still giggling Hitomi.

As soon as they were out of sight, the look on her 'kidnapper's' face changed. Her expression was menacing, and rather nasty.

"Now you ignorant brat, listen up." She hissed. "You stay away from MY Ryo-kun. You don't deserve his attention, and he'll lose interest in you soon enough, so just drop it, okay?"

"Look, I have no interest in Kise whatsoever, he's just randomly following me aroun-" She was interrupted yet again by a girly slap to the right side of her face.

"He wouldn't follow the likes of _you _around, sweetie." Hitomi said in a sickly honey-coated voice. "That is such an insult to me." Then she smartly turned on her heels and marched off, apparently satisfied for the time being.


	5. Chapter 5

**Note: I will be changing the name of this fanfic when the next chapter is out. **

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Kise watched as Hitomi giggled and stroked his hair happily, having just walked back from 'a chat with Suzu-chan'. Said girl had mysteriously disappeared and the model was craning his neck, trying to catch sight of her curly hazel hair.

"Where's Suzu-cchi?" He finally asked the - still giggling - Hitomi, who had now grabbed her lunch and sat down next to him.

Her grin faltered a little. "Hmm? Oh Suzu-chan? She went off somewhere, said she didn't want to be disturbed, so I left her alone."

When Kise made to get up to find her, the ash-blonde-haired girl pouted and tugged on his sleeve. "Come on, I think she'll only be angry if you bother her now, so can't you just...well..." She then opted for the shy, sweet look that really didn't work on her. "Stay with me?"

He considered his options for a while. He could either go and try to find Suzume, which would probably take the whole lunch, and he wouldn't even be welcome, or he could stay and have fun for once, with Hitomi, who seemed like a nice enough girl, especially as though she made an effort to befriend Suzume.

"Okay then!" Kise replied brightly, and plopped back onto the seat.

"You know," She went back into giggling mode. "Suzu-chan doesn't seem to like me very much."

He nodded sadly. "No, she doesn't appreciate my company either."

"Really?" Hitomi asked, a hint of irritation mixed with curiosity in her voice. "I thought...I thought she was forcing herself on you..." She said the last part very quietly.

Nevertheless he heard. "No, no! I just kept following her around! No!"

Her eyebrows creased into a haughty frown. "Right... Of course."

Meanwhile, Suzume was still standing in the silent courtyard, rubbing the spot where that annoying girl had hit her. She had _no right _to do that, whatever the reason. She felt her blood boil and started back towards the canteen, only to see Kise coming out of it, Hitomi hanging on his arm. They were laughing and talking about something and she felt a prickle of irritation at the sight.

But of course, he had probably given up already. The task of befriending was so challenging even he couldn't be bothered. Well, this was predicted anyway. Suzume turned her back on the pair and walked off to the library to clear her mind.

* * *

The library was one of her favourite places, and also the most familiar place, in the school. There were fluorescent-coloured lamps on the round mini-tables and of course, books. Rows of shelves in every direction, sometimes a table or two hiding in a cosy spot, and they were all filled with books of every kind. Whatever you can imagine, it would be there.

Suzume went to find a table in a dark corner, switched on the lap and flicked open a book.

She stayed in that position all lunch, reading and absorbing information on her next Chem class. She always had to read up on their future classes just in case she couldn't catch up. Besides, she had nothing else to do, really, since she disliked socialising and the like. She _would _draw but recently she just... there was no inspiration.

Everyday was a dull blur and she felt no compulsion to pick up her pencil and do something awesome with it. She felt like she wasn't living for the sake of living anymore, she was living because there was nothing better to do.

Dimly, Suzume heard a bell ring and hurried over to World History, where she slid into her seat, still half in a daze.

She doodled in her book while the teacher went on and on about something she probably already covered on her own. Barely hearing the bell ring yet again, she looked up only when she realised that most people had gone already.

The girl packed slowly and walked outside into the soft spring sunshine, squinting a little. She strolled over to the school's sakura trees, and stroked the branches, feeling a spark of inspiration for the first time in weeks. She tilted her head up and watched quietly as the light wind blew the pale pink petals down. They floated in the air for quite a bit, then came to land in her open hand.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" A voice behind her made her jump, and she whirled around to see Hitomi clutching the blonde again, staring up at the sky.

"Yes!" Kise grinned excitedly, and on cue Hitomi giggled.

They didn't seem to have seen her yet, and she quickly tiptoed away, not wanting to be spotted. But it seems as though luck just wasn't on her side today.

He gave a small start as he saw Suzume, as if she was something he'd just remembered. "Suzu-cchi..." But of course, this is Kise we're talking about here, and he recovers pretty quickly. "Suzu-cchi, do you wanna come to karaoke with us today? It'll be really fun."

She tried to decline, but his grip was much stronger and somehow she got dragged along anyway, under the piercing glares coming from Hitomi and some other girls from his fanclub, who just joined them.

They turned out to have a small room in the karaoke place that was dark and had flashing disco lights everywhere. Suzume, who never wanted to be there in the first place just curled up in a corner and tried to disappear. Key word: TRIED. She closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. The giggly girl who clung to Kise was going to give hell for this, for sure. And she thought Kise had given by now? Well, seems not then.

Halfway through, said blonde left the room with another girl to get some fresh air. Truth is, she needed fresh air too, but she daren't move, or else she might get spotted by the fangirls or something again.

"Oi, girly." A very familiar voice called. Her eyes darted over to Hitomi, where she had her hands on her hips and was smirking right at her. "Yes, you. Come out here."

She heaved a sigh and trudged over to where everyone else was. "What?"

"WHAT? Did you just say WHAT?!" One girl said dramatically, looking outraged.

Hitomi smiled disgustingly. "Sweetie, you don't say 'what' to me. I am the Kise Fanclub PRESIDENT."

Suzume blinked. "Um, so?"

"SO? So I am the only who's allowed to date Ryo-kun." She frowned. "Let me explain the rules here. A girl is only allowed to talk to Kise with company, and only if she is in this club. The vice-president is allowed to flirt with him, nothing more. But the president, and only the president, can date him. Got that, honey?"

She couldn't really care less about these rules, I mean they didn't apply to her anyways so what's the point? "And who made up these stupid rules?"

"Why, the club of course."

"And why do _I _have to follow them if I'm not in the club?"

She looked mad now. Oops-y daisy. "Look here, girly. I've been in the club for a long time and I've worked for_ever _to be the Prez, don't you go spoiling my game."

"I-" But Hitomi had had enough. She gestured to her minions and they came forward, one holding her arms back while others pulled her hair, kicked her with their high heels on, and the like.

Suzume kept her head up high the whole time. Even if she couldn't do anything against them she would not go around acting like she was scared of them or anything; she wouldn't give them the pleasure.

Each time a punch or kick found its target, she made sure it didn't show on her face. At least she would have her dignity.

The fangirls were so absorbed in making Suzume's life hell that they didn't see the door open. They didn't see Kise coming in, bright and happy, but expression turning as soon as he saw what they were doing.

"Just WHAT do you think you're doing?!" He yelled, making everyone stop in their tracks.

Hitomi gasped. "Oh Ryo-kun, it's j-just-"

"Shut up." He hissed, looking furious. "I don't want to hear your voice." All the while he moved towards where Suzume had collapsed in the centre of the girls.

"I... It isn't what you thin-"

He glared at her. "Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

She shut up.

"Now if I see or hear anything like this again, I'll make sure you regret it." No one has ever seen him look so mad.

Hitomi nodded silently.

"Were you responsible for her falling down the stairs and also the Bunsen burner incident too?" He asked her. "Were you?"

She hesitated, then nodded again.

Kise picked Suzume up as if she weighed nothing, then turned his back on all of them. "That's enough. We're leaving."


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Kise walked in silence, still holding Suzume gingerly in his arms. They heard a loud wail accompanied by sobs echo from the room they just left, but no one was even slightly sympathetic.

There was a tense silence between the two, and the girl felt anger radiating off him in waves. She made herself smaller, feeling a little intimidated by him, and also feeling like she was the one who did something wrong.

"Put me down." She said in a tiny voice. "I can walk, I'm fine, only have few bruises."

He hesitated, then put her down obediently. She drew herself up to her full height (168cm) and turned to face Kise.

"You should've told me." He spoke, voice deep and solemn.

Suzume looked away and kept on walking. "T-tell you what?"

He sighed. "About Hitomi, and how she treated you."

"I don't need to tell you. It has nothing to do with you." She retorted, recovering some of her confidence.

Kise grabbed her shoulders, making her stop, and whirled her around to face him. "Nothing to do with me?! It was _because _of me! And I'd told you I'll be your friend, right? I told you I'll be here for you!" He shook her a little.

She winced at his outburst. "Well you were _such _great friends I didn't think you would believe me! And you're so easily fooled by appearances! If it wasn't for you bothering me in the first place they wouldn't have targeted me now would they?" She raised her voice too, angry at him. Suzume freed herself from his grasp and strided off in the dark.

The blonde just stood there, staring after the disappearing figure.

He wanted to argue, he wanted to say that she was wrong, but he couldn't. Because all that she said was true. It was all because of him. It was his fault.

* * *

Kise slammed the ball into the net, with more force than necessary. He was letting all of his frustration out by doing basketball and exercising.

He went back to the middle line and did a layup, but the ball bounced on the backboard and bounced out again. He let out a scream of frustration, sinking onto the ground and burying his fingers in his hair.

"Kise-kun." Someone called.

That familiar voice. Which belonged to a certain 168cm person.

"Kuroko-cchi!" **(A/N: Ha! Bet you all thought it was Suzume! Je suis tres evil)**

A tall redhead also came into view. "So that's Kise Ryota?"

"Huh...?" Kise blinked.

"Kise-kun, this is Kagami Taiga, he goes to Seirin and is on the basketball team with me." Kuroko explained.

Kagami grunted. "Bet I can beat you."

"Wanna try?"

"Not today, it's too dark."

"Then when?"

The light-blue-haired male interrupted them. "Kise-kun, you should visit us at Seirin sometime."

Kise grinned, though it wasn't as bright as usual. "Sure!" Anything to take his mind off that hurt look on her face when she walked away... He shouldn't have yelled at her. It wasn't her fault. "Maybe we can organise a practise match together! I miss you, Kuroko-cchi... Come to Kaijo with me!"

"No thank you." He declined politely.

They talked some more, basically just arguing about 'coming to Kaijo', or rather, more like '_not _coming to Kaijo'.

The blonde felt his depression lift slightly as he filled his mind with basketball.

* * *

It was Saturday the next day, and apparently Seirin has basketball training on Saturday mornings too, so Kise travelled over to see those guys.

"Kagami! Kuroko-cchi!" He called loudly, skipping into the gym.

There was the familiar thud of the ball being bounced and squeaks of the shoes as everyone turned this way and that. As he came in, everyone stopped and stared at this strange newcomer.

Riko blinked. "Kagami-kun? Kuroko-kun? You know this blondie?"

"Nope. No way." Kagami shook his head fiercely.

"He's from the GoM." Kuroko deadpanned.

"Ahhhh." Their Coach nodded knowingly. "So even the GoM has ditzes like him."

Kise pouted and started wailing. "Noooooo-ssu! So mean~ Wait, I forgot, I don't know all of you!"

Everyone sweatdropped. "He really is such a ditz..." Hyuga commented. "Hyuga Junpei, I'm the captain."

"Izuki Shun, and I'm the funny, punny guy!" He said, sparkling.

"Oh shut up already..." A girl pushed him.

After everyone introduced himself, he grinned.

"Good morning everyone! I am Kise Ryota!" He twirled around and made a pose, as if expecting applause, but everyone stayed silent.

"I think we all know already, jeez." That same girl said, looking amused. "And hey! You guys forgot about me! I didn't get to introduce myself!"

Kagami rubbed the top of her head. "'S because you're not important." He grunted.

Surprisingly, she grabbed his hair and yanked him down to eye level. "I am your senpai! And I am to be respected!" She hissed, looking pretty creepy for a second there before she let go and grinned brightly again.

...Well, _someone_ has a double personality.

"I'm Hirai Chika! But just Chika is fine. Ooh, and I'm also the basketball club's manager."

Kise beamed back. "I've come today to organise a practise match! Since I go to Kaijo!"

"A practise match..." Riko considered. "With Kaijo... Sure!" There was a gleam in her eye.

They organised the date, and time, and soon Riko was happily skipping away everywhere. Kise left after getting declined by Kuroko for the millionth time, and Seirin went back to practise.

Meanwhile, Suzume was in her house, killing time.

She decided to practise the clarinet for a while before she got bored. Sora was at a friend's house for a sleepover that lasted til tomorrow, and there was still no spark of inspiration.

Having absolutely nothing more to do, she grabbed a fluffy jacket and walked out the front door, locking it behind her.

"Huh, it's May already..." She stated. "It's getting warmer."

Wandering around aimlessly, Suzume came to a stop in front of an icecream shop. Well, why not?

"A mango sugar cone, please." Licking her icecream, she exited the shop, not really looking where she was going.

She felt herself go headfirst into a wall of hard muscle. "Ouch!" A strong hand held her arm, and kept her from falling further.

"Oh tha-" Her throat dried up. She stared up into chocolate brown eyes, and ruffled blonde hair, then quickly looked back down again. "Hi."

He blinked, seeming shocked for a while. "S-Suzu-cchi!"

She looked disgruntled. "Your hard chest is going to give my head a bruise."

Kise laughed nervously. She didn't seem too upset by his outburst yesterday, so... are things still okay with them? "H-hey?"

"Yeah?"

"A-are you okay?"

"Yeah... ?" Suzume was weirded out. Who asked someone if 'they're okay', just randomly?

"Oh, that's good." He let out a sigh of relief. "So we're still friends?"

She smiled a little sarcastically. "We were never friends in the first place, Kise."

"Whaaaaat?" He complained.

* * *

_**~Flashback~**_

_"Daddy! Daddy, look what I found!" Suzume (five years old) was holding up a stag beetle and looking proud of herself. _

_"Yes, how lovely." He briefly glanced over, but went straight back to organising documents._

_Her mother was too busy with one-year-old Sora, so she always bothered her father, but..._

_She watched, feeling a little lonely, as her dad kept working on his documents. He always loved working, but sometimes that got in the way of family time._

_"Daddy!" Suzume grinned. "Daddy Maddy Baddy Daddy!" She giggled._

_He finally snapped. "Kikuchi Suzume. You can see clearly that I'm working, and you know not to disturb me. You are a bad girl, bad girl. How many times have I told you this? I have to time for nonsense. Go to bed. Now."_

_Tears formed in her eyes. She knew she was wrong, but he didn't have to be so mean about it. The young girl turned around and tottered off to her bedroom, blowing Sora a kiss in the process._

**_~Flashback End~_**

Suzume bolted up in her bed. There was sweat on her forehead and tears in her eyes. She didn't like thinking about her unhappy childhood, and dreams about them were the worst.

They were so vivid it was like living through them again, and she definitely didn't want that.

Warm tears rolled down her cheeks, and she roughly wiped them off. Now was not the time to feel sorry for herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN **

Suzume rubbed her sore arms, silently cursing Hitomi and her minions.

"Suzu-cchi~!" The blonde came over merrily and patted her arm.

She winced, jerking back.

"Huh?" He blinked.

"My bruises!" She huffed.

Kise's mouth dropped open. "Uwaahhhh~! I forgot, sorry!"

She mumbled a reply back and turned away emotionlessly.

_Hmm, _he thought, _since I caused so much trouble for her, I should do her some fanservice!_

When Suzume turned back, he gave her an extra-big and extra-sparkly grin. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Suzu-cchi!" He exclaimed, while he used his hands to cup her face.

"Huh? Yeah. You should be sorry. And also can you let go of my face now?" The girl deadpanned blankly. She was really weirded out by this guy.

Kise did as he was told. "Waahhhh~" He cried. "So cold~"

She ignored him and looked around. Hitomi was sitting two seats away from her, and was making a point of pretending she didn't exist. Girls these days. What was so good about Kise anyway? He's just an annoying, whiny, stalker-y, not to mention conceited, brat.

"Listen up, students." The teacher called. "We have a transfer student, please welcome her."

Everyone immediately started whispering.

"Transfer student? A month into the term?"

"HER! It's a 'her' which means it's a girl!" (That was like a first-year-version of Moriyama)

Then, said girl skipped into the classroom. "Yo! Hi everyone, pleased to meet you! I'm Tachibana Chiyo." She had dark brown hair tied up in a messy bun, and golden brown eyes.

Tachibana... She might've heard that name somewhere else before. It seemed familiar, and the answer was just fluttering about on the edge of her mind, but...

Whatever. It's not that important anyway.

"Hello!" Chiyo called to Suzume as she plopped down in the spare seat on her other side. "What's your name?"

"Kikuchi Suzume." She replied curtly.

Not seeming to mind the rather cold reply, the other girl grinned. "Well, nice to meet you, Suzu-chan! Please take care of me."

"Mmm, 'kay."

The teacher coughed and caught everyone's attention again. Suzume sometimes glanced over at the cheery girl next to her, still trying to figure where she heard the name 'Tachibana'. She also looked slightly familiar, a bit like a person she's met before.

* * *

Suzume munched slowly on her bento beneath that same willow tree, enjoying the peace of being on her own. Thank the lord Kise had basketball training today, or else she would've had to bear that same annoying voice all the way through lunch. A little smile was on her face as she watched the school from that view, and the cherry blossoms falling in the wind.

"Suzu-chan!" A bright and enthusiastic voice called from a distance. She couldn't help letting out a groan as her peaceful time was ruined yet again, by some unknown person.

"Hmm?" She replied, still a bit moody.

The girl was greeted by Chiyo's happy smile. "I'm so glad I found you, can I have lunch with you?"

Not waiting for a reply, she sat down in the grass next to Suzume. "Eh... The sight is so pretty hey? I'm glad I came to Kaijo instead of going to Yosen like my sister."

She kept eating silently, seeming like she wasn't even listening to Chiyo.

"Hehh? You're not going to ask me about my sister?" She pouted. "Well, I'll tell you anyway. My twin sister is the one mum likes the most. Mum always gives her this task or that to complete, but they are all really mysterious, and I have no idea what they are. Sometimes I wish she liked me too, but then again now I'm allowed to do whatever I want."

"Oh." Was Suzume's short reply. In truth she felt just a bit sorry for Chiyo now, but she couldn't bring herself to trust someone so easily.

She beamed. "Ah, you finally talked! Can you tell me about you too?"

"I-I'd prefer not to." She said quietly. Something just seemed suspicious about this girl trying to talk to her like they were best friends or something, and she wasn't about to let down her guard.

The brunette sighed. "Okay then. That's fine. Then...could you show me around the school? I nearly got lost five times today."

Her aquamarine eyes glanced at the girl cautiously. "I g-guess so." She stood, brushing bits of grass off her dress. "Well, let's go then. Kaijo is enormous, so it might take a long time."

"Haaaiiii!" Chiyo gave a mini-salute and winked at Suzume. "Let's goooo!"

They walked around the school, Suzume taking some time to explain all of the features of the school, and where everything is. Chiyo just tried to take in everything in her bright and cheery manner.

"Hehh? The gym?" She asked as they came to Kaijou's first gym.

"Yeah. I don't know who's practising in there right now, but it's always some sports team or another." She said quietly, shrugging. "From the fangirling screams inside, I'm guessing the basketball team."

The brunette giggled. "But Kise-kun is really good-looking though!"

Suzume didn't reply, but she made a face and pushed open the door. She was greeted with a bunch of girls getting pushed out the door. The two outside stumbled back in surprise and waited til it was safe, then peeked inside the gym.

"KISE! STOP LETTING YOUR FANGIRLS IN HERE! THEY'RE DISRUPTING PRACTICE." Kasamatsu kicked said blonde in the face and Chiyo couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

All of them turned towards the door.

"SUZU-CCHI!" Kise ran to her with his arms open, but she ducked behind the door at he last moment, making him almost smash into it. He pouted, feigning sadness and the other girl giggled again

"Kise-kun! It's nice to meet you in person! I'm a huge fan." She smiled, holding out a hand.

He shook it politely. "What's your na-" Aaand he got hit in the head again.

"STOP TALKING TO YOUR FANGIR-"

"I'm not a fangirl!" Suzume said indignantly, forgetting to be shy for a moment. "That's a rather disturbing thought."

Chiyo tapped her chin for a moment. "Hey, weren't you on the cover of Modelling Weekly with Kise?"

She nodded, hazel locks swinging a little. "I was forced."

"And speaking of that," Kise grinned, slinging an arm over her shoulder. "We have a photo shoot again this afternoon." He was happy at the thought of spending time with her without her being able to get away. After all, the game is nowhere near finished yet.

* * *

The girl sighed as she stepped out of the changing room. This time she had to wear this black leather jacket and spikey shorts, the theme being 'motorcycles' this time.

"Suzu-cchi! Do you like motorcycles?" Kise grinned at her. He was dressed in matching attire, which... in Suzume's opinion... looked much better than the school uniform. Wait, what? Did she really think that? Nah it must've just been the annoyance of having to pose for the camera.

"Nope." She shook the weird thoughts off and focused on the job. Which she detested.

**TIME SKIP**

"Suzu-cchi." Kise smirked and slung an arm over Suzume's shoulder yet again.

She shrugged it off, annoyed. "What?"

"Do you like motorcycles?"

"No, I already told you! They're way too fast and creepy."

A rather disturbing grin appeared on his face and she felt a shiver go down her spine. He must be planning something again. She had a really bad feeling about this...

Somehow, Kise produced an actual motorcycle out of nowhere and made Suzume sit behind him. "Hold on tight, Suzu-cchi~ We're going to be driving veryyy fast!"

"I HATE YOU, KISE!" She shrieked as he revved up the engine and took off into the fading sunset. The girl forced herself to breathe and clung onto his t-shirt for dear life. Every once in a while, she would hit him, but not too hard, because she was afraid of an accident.

"Do you even had a license?" Suzume shouted over the wind.

He again, produced a license out of nowhere and chucked it at her. She just managed to grab it before it fell and got destroyed under the spinning wheels of the motor bike.

"Right... I forgot that 16 is the legal age for a motorcycle license." She sighed, and quickly tucked it away, before grabbing tightly onto the male in front of her again. "God, I-"

"Hate me, right?" He grinned, though she couldn't see.

Suzume rolled her eyes but she was smiling. "Glad to hear you know."

* * *

**Gahh, I'm so sorry for the late update! I literally forgot about this fanfic, then I looked at it and realised I hadn't updated since April! Sooooo I hastily typed out this chapter, kindly tell me if I have any typos or stuff.**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"Suzu-cchi!" That loud, obnoxious voice called, seeming to snap the girl from her morning daze.

She sighed. "_What_?"

"Hey, hey, should I call you Suzu-cchi or Suzume-cchi? Which do you prefer?" He grinned, skipping over to his seat and sitting down, fangirls starting to crowd the place.

"Doesn't matter."

He pouted. "Tch."

"Kise-kuuun~" One of the fangirls called, getting impatient. "Why can't you talk to me as much as you talk to her~?"

"Huh? Isn't she the one mentioned on Modelling Monthly? She got kind of popular because her debut shot was with you, Ryouta-cchi. She appeared in the magazine that you work for – Zunon Boy-ssu." (Modelling Monthly is a magazine dedicated to gossip about models and the like).

Kise scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Ehe~ Just on a side note, please don't copy my way of speaking. I'm a Copycat myself, so I don't like being copied from."

"Kyaaaaa! When he does that it's soooo hot!"

_…__what even…_

The teacher entered and sighed at the usual sight – the usual bunch of random girls, some not even from this class, crowding around the usual desk. "Girls, quiet down please. It's time for class." He was getting really sick of Kise's popularity with those people, and honestly wished there could be a day when everything was nice and quiet.

All of them pouted sadly and walked away (as slowly as they could), but not before sending the blond a flirtatious smile or wave. Why they even bother everyday is beyond me.

* * *

"Suzume-cchi!" He called urgently at break. "C'mere."

She didn't even bother to reply.

"Suzume-cchi! Oh yeah, I changed it to Suzume-cchi instead of Suzu-cchi, hope you don't mind. Hmm, Suzume-cchi, I really think you look better without glasses. I'm so glad Zunon Boy decided to give you contacts. It's probably because your eyes are so pretty, they didn't wan-"

"Would you shut up or get to the point already?" She sighed, looking slightly annoyed.

He did the neck-scratching thing again and made that annoying 'I'm-so-innocent' face. "Ehe~ Well, I was about to say, do you want to go to this bakery after school? I heard it has really nice crepes." He said hopefully, blinking his wide golden eyes (lined with eyeliner...?).

"Don't you have basketball after school?" She really didn't want to stay in his obnoxious company for too long, or she might go insane.

"Eh, well, since I'm so good already, it won't matter." Kise grinned, overconfident in his skills. "I'm better than anyone else either. Even if they practise and practise, they'll never be as good as me~"

_This is why his personality is so obnoxious. _Suzume gritted her teeth. "That is not a good reason. Besides, if you want to beat your former teammates, you HAVE to practise. And you also have to work on your teamwork. Don't be so arrogant and think you can be the best without working! It's not possible to just rely on your talent!"

After letting out her thoughts, she turned and walked off without another word. Personally, she thought Kise should be taught a lesson. Has he never lost a match all his life?

He poked his tongue out at her disappearing figure. Making her like him was proving to be quite difficult.

She just didn't understand the extent of his talent. Maybe… Yes, that's it, he'll make her watch the upcoming practice match between Seirin and Kaijou, and show her how powerful he was! That way she would... admire him! And she wouldn't be so mean to him ever again!

* * *

"Suzume-cchi." It had become such a usual thing to call out to the girl and not get a reply. "Suzume-cchi, this is really important, I swear!"

She turned a little to face him, hands cupping her face and elbows resting on her desk.

He beamed, happy to have finally received her attention. "I have a practice match with Seirin this lunch – basically in a few minutes. Come watch me beat them!"

"Seirin? Huh. Are they strong?"

"Ah, well, I guess. They have Kuroko-cchi, so probably!" He grinned broadly at the thought of his darling 'Kuroko-cchi'.

_Who the hell is that…?_

"Uh, I don't want to." Why would she?

"B-BUT YOU HAAAVE TOOO!" Kise had crocodile tears sliding down his face and was attracting a lot of weird looks from the classmates who were in there. His fangirls had all gone to claims the seats in the gym and Suzume no longer had guys crowding around her (they were all convinced that it wasn't her anymore).

Being slightly a pushover (more like she wanted him to shut up), she reluctantly agreed.

Sighing, she stood up and headed towards the gym while Kise went to welcome the Seirin guys. Suzume was secretly hoping he would lose this match, so he could taste the bitterness of defeat and lose some of that overactive ego.

* * *

She blinked in surprise. The match ended, with Seirin as the winner.

Wait, what? Didn't Kise say he'd never lost a match all his life? Was he lying about his great skills? No, he looked pretty good at it when he was playing. Then that means his opponent was better?

While she was thinking this all through, she didn't realise that everyone had left already, and quickly got up to leave through the back door, which was the closest.

"S-Suzume-cchi…" The same voice called, but this time it was in a rather dejected tone. "I lost."

The girl spared him a glance, and saw that he was… washing his hair under the cold water…?

"What are you doing? If you want to wash your hair, shouldn't you go into the showers?"

Unexpectedly, Kise started laughing. Hard. "Suzume-cchi, you really don't know how to read the atmosphere, do you?"

Suzume looked a little lost. "What…?"

"Alright. I will definitely train hard with the team and I won't lose to Kagami-cchi and Kuroko-cchi next time!" He said, turning off the tap and stretching. She noted that he seems to have lost some of that overconfidence and annoying arrogance.

"Yeah." She nodded, a small smile on her face.

"Kise?" An unfamiliar voice said, interrupting their conversation

Both he and Suzume turned, seeing a green-haired glasses dude holding a matching green frog in one hand.

"Midorima-cchi?"

The other girl subconsciously stepped behind Kise, as she thought this guy was rather weird and a tad bit creepy.

"I lost…" He stated to 'Midorima-cchi'.

"I heard. It's rather disappointing that you, a member of the Generation of Miracles, lost to Kuroko." He replied coldly, pushing up his glasses. "When I go up against them, I will definitely win."

He pouted. "But Kuroko-cchi is awesome! And he's a member of the GoM too~"

Their conversation was then interrupted by a certain black-haired basketball player from Shutoku, who was panting as he dragged the rickshaw over. "SHIN-CHAN! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST LEFT ME THERE!"

"Takao. Haven't I told you not to call me Shin-chan?"

"Shin…chan…?" Suzume finally spoke up from behind Kise, trying to muffle her laughs. "H-he doesn't really look like a Shin-chan to me... Not a 'Midorima-cchi' either..."

"Eh? Who's this?" Takao said, peeking around at her.

Kise laughed. "This is Kikuchi Suzume-cchi! And this is Midorima-cchi! Midorima Shintaro."

"I'm Kazunari Takao. Don't mind Shin-chan, he's just a tsundere."

"Oh…" Suzume said, still shy as ever with random people (she is, in fact, less shy around people she doesn't like…).

Takao grinned. "Well, Shin-chan, we have to go now."

"See you on the court, Kise." Midorima held his frog-thing tighter and left without another backward glance.

"Bye-bye, Kise, Suzume!" Takao called, waving vigorously as they rode away on the rickshaw. Well, Takao was doing all of the pedalling, but you know what I mean.

After watching them go away, Suzume turned to Kise. "That Cucumber-Head was weird." She said bluntly.

He burst out laughing again. "Y-you mean Midorima-cchi? Ahaahaha, yeah. Now that I think about it, you haven't called me Banana-Head in a long time."

"Ah." She blinked. "I forgot."

Kise kept sniggering.

"Banana-Head." She called. He stopped laughing. "Why was he holding a frog? Is he really baby-ish or something? It's weird. He's weird. Why was there tape around his fingers?"

"Oh, that's Midorima-cchi's lucky item! He believes in this horoscope thing. The tape… was for good luck or something too."

Suzume made a face. "Oh. That's weird."

* * *

"Kise-kuun~" Those same voices of the fanclub chorused.

"You looked so cool yesterday! Even though you lost, I still love you!" A girl who was apparently the vice-captain cooed in his ear.

Kise just smiled charmingly.

Suddenly, most of the girls disappeared without warning and a path was cleared for someone. What surprised him most was that the teacher hadn't even arrived yet. What was this miracle?!

"Kise-kun, Suzume-san." A meek and timid voice said. The voice was clearly recognisable as the President of the Kise Ryouta fanclub, Hitomi.

"What?" He replied rudely, getting annoyed all over again.

"I-I'm so sorry for the incident tha-that occurred before. I'm sorry, Suzume-san." She bowed. "I really didn't mean for you to get hurt. I apologise for letting my emotions take over me, and I really hope you can forgive me."

Suzume remained quiet. It was so obvious that she was just acting to gain Kise's attention once more.

Seeing that Suzume was not about to say anything, she frantically turned to the blond. "I'm so sorry, Kise-kun! Please forgive me! I'm sorry! Sooooooo, sooooooo sorry!"

The hazel-haired girl was shocked to see that Kise was actually considering her request. He was deep in thought, and seemed to be about to forgive her!

Even if he did forgive Hitomi, she wouldn't. And she doesn't care if Kise is on her side or not anyway…

_Does she?_

* * *

Please note that in the last chapter, I wrote something about 16 being the legal ace for motorcycle licenses, but then I realised Kise's birthday hadn't passed yet! So just pretend for me that 15 is the legal age, and ignore my stupidness…


End file.
